Illuminations Anniversary/Birthday Party Review

[Twende]

Last Sunday night we had a surprise Illuminations viewing party at the Outside pub patio of Rose and Crown in Epcot.

It was to celebrate Our Anniversary and our youngest DDs 30th birthday.

We had 11 people and 2 toddlers and we received an exception to use the space as it is usually limited to ten.

We met a Disney Guide, Jose at the IG at 7:45PM. He escorted us to the Rose and Crown and was super with a very confused and surprised group. It was so difficult keeping it all a secret!

We were greeted by several CMs we basically kept other Epcot guest off "our" patio. Next we were greeted by a hostess and our bartender/server. There was a very lovely table that included the cheese, pitas, and fruit plates plus a huge silver chaffing dish of hot cheese filled jalapeno pretzels. Next the to cheeses was an incredible cake. Next to that was an ice filled tub of Strongbow hard ciders and Creme de Cassis Liquor. The drink is called a Bow and Black and is Ds favorite so they were able to have the bartender mix this drink for everyone.

Everyone one was so surprised and the looks on DH and DDs faces were priceless!

The cheeses and fruits were great. The pretzels were exactly the proper temperature and beyond delicious. The bartender did a great job of mixing us the speciality drink and it went perfect with the cheeses and pretzels.

Now the cake was a work of art! One side of this two tiered cake was decorated for our anniversary. It was gorgeous peach flowers and was completely covered in fondant. On the bottom of the cake plate in chocolate was the question "How about another 40 ?"

The other side was decorated with a Goofy theme for DDs 30th birthday. She is a huge Goofy fan. The top tier was an orange cake with dark chocolate filling. The bottom tier was an almond cake with amaretto crunch filling. When it we cut and in the dark of the evening, both layers looked like vanilla to me but one you took a bite you realized how very special they were! The orange flavor burst in your mouth and the chocolate with it was divine! The almond cake was a complete hit and with the amaretto filling, it was the best cake I have ever eaten!

We then watched Illuminations and as normal it was amazing. As soon as it ended we were escorted to the next surprise, a last ride of the day Soarin'. Our guide politely escorted us to the restrooms and then through a back stage doorway near Canada. From there we were escorted to a back door of Soarin' and on to our own private showing. Front and center! It was so much fun! This is called a Mix-in and was part of the location rental fee as long as all guests has tickets for Epcot that day. If your guests did not have tickets there was an additional per guest Illuminations viewing fee and a Mix-in fee.

After the ride our guide escorted us back to the IG. I believe I even hugged him to thank him for the wonderful evening! It could not have been more perfect!

By the way, DH answered the cake question with a very firm and happy YES!

 

[wiigirl]

Thanks for the review....

 

[andeesings]

What an AMAZING thing!!!! Do you mind if we ask the price? Also--- please post pictures!!!!

 

[Lorelei528]

Hi. I must have missed your original posts about setting this up..did you just go through Catered Events for this?

If so, do they handle the mix-in part as well?

Sounds like you had a fabulously magical time!!

Any pics from the party?

 

[Twende]

What an AMAZING thing!!!! Do you mind if we ask the price? Also--- please post pictures!!!!

Hi. I must have missed your original posts about setting this up..did you just go through Catered Events for this?

If so, do they handle the mix-in part as well?

Sounds like you had a fabulously magical time!!

Any pics from the party?

We did this through catered events. A vow renewal was way too expensive. I think the total was about $1200. I wanted it under a thousand but the special drinks cost a bit more.

They handled the mix in but only after I asked about it. I learned about here here. It was amazing!

I have pics on my camera but we are moving right now and my computer is packed. I need to download what I have to a photo hosting site. I will try to do that this week.

I wish I had paid the extra couple hundred for a Disney photographer. It would have been nice to have good pics.

 

[Mel*Pie]

What a great surprise! Sounds like it was a lot of fun.

You said that the mix-in was included in the location rental fee... Does this mean that there was no additional cost for the ride mix-in? Anyone having a dessert party can schedule a mix-in for the price they are already paying? Except for additional fees for those without park tickets, of course.

Would love to see the photos when you get settled in! Subscribing in anticipation

 

[lurkyloo]

Yes, the mix-in only costs $15/person for those guests without park admission.

 

[Lorelei528]

Yes, the mix-in only costs $15/person for those guests without park admission.

Is there a minimum number of peeps for this?

 

[lurkyloo]

Nope! The only trick is, it usually has to occur toward the end of the operating day. So for our Tower of Terror dinner we couldn't do a mix-in on the ride because the park had long since closed. But at Epcot it's easier to time out.

 

[YCFAN]

Nope! The only trick is, it usually has to occur toward the end of the operating day. So for our Tower of Terror dinner we couldn't do a mix-in on the ride because the park had long since closed. But at Epcot it's easier to time out.

I've been planning an illuminations party for months now and had one two years ago. A mix-in has never been mentioned to me. Is thus something they do not usually promote? Just wondering if I should ask about it for my 31 guests who will all have park tickets.

 

[Julz226]

My husband and I did one on the veranda in Italy. I think we had closer to 60 guests, most of which did not have park tickets. Disney got everyone in very efficiently on two buses.

While I loved my wedding at Disney, Illuminations was the highlight of the wedding festivities, and continues to be something my husband and I do every so often (just go down for dinner and fireworks) now, years later.

 

[Twende]

The mix in was not offered to us either. I only knew to ask because of this board.

The only limitation put on us was the number of people for a venue. We were 1 person over the venue limit but they were able to get an exception for us.

We were told that without Epcot tickets there would be two fees, one for Illuminations viewing and one for the mix-in. With tickets there was no additional fee added to the venue fee and the food minimum fee. We met the food minimum easily with just the cheese plate and pretzels. The speciality cake was literally just the icing on the cake!

 

[Mel*Pie]

Very cool!

 

[lurkyloo]

I've been planning an illuminations party for months now and had one two years ago. A mix-in has never been mentioned to me. Is thus something they do not usually promote? Just wondering if I should ask about it for my 31 guests who will all have park tickets.

Definitely ask about it. If there's one thing I've learned from planning multiple events at Disney, it's that they rarely volunteer options that deviate from the norm. That's why boards like this are so helpful!

 

[Chilly]

Sounds like a fab evening.